


It's OK to Cry

by madlysanecatlady



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gladnis, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mostly just sad, i don't know why i did this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 05:44:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14372169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madlysanecatlady/pseuds/madlysanecatlady
Summary: Crying brings you comfort in times of loss. So do those you love most.





	It's OK to Cry

Gladio paused in his afternoon run when the sound of quiet sobbing caught his attention. Curious, he followed the sound towards the small garden he sometimes hid out in when he wanted to avoid his training for a little while. He walked around the tall rose bushes that obscured the stone bench there from view, eyes falling on the figure of his best friend, knees curled up to his chest, face hidden in them as he cried.

Gladio was wracked with uncertainty. Every fibre of his being screamed for him to rush over and hug the hurt right out of his friend’s body, but he hesitated, knowing how reserved and poised Ignis generally was. For starters, Ignis generally tended to shy away from physical contact, so a hug might likely be the last thing he’d want at the moment.  And, more importantly, Ignis was a person who tended to pride himself on his emotional control; Gladio didn’t think he’d appreciate having Gladio witnessing him like this. He debated with himself, wondering if he should just leave and pretend he hadn’t seen anything, but his affection for his friend won out, driving him forward to put a gentle hand to Ignis’ shoulder.

Ignis’ head shot up with a strangled gasping sound, watery emerald eyes snapping to lock with amber ones. Gladio felt the shoulder under his hand tense up like steel before it softened, Ignis seeming to deflate a little as he registered it was Gladio in front of him.

‘Oh, it’s just you.’

Gladio was honestly rather touched that Ignis seemed comfortable with Gladio knowing he was crying. He sank down onto the bench next to Ignis and put an arm around his shoulders, squeezing lightly. ‘What’s the matter, Iggy? Is there anything I can do to help?’

‘Not likely, unless you’re a necromancer,’ Ignis sniffled, trying and succeeding to force himself to stop crying and using the cuff of his sleeve to try and dry his eyes. Gladio was, frankly, impressed; Ignis truly did have stellar control over his emotions. ‘My grandmother has passed.’

‘Oh, Iggy, I’m so sorry,’ Gladio forgot himself for a moment and leaned over to wrap his arms around Ignis and squish him into a tight hug. He was rather surprised when he felt Ignis sink into it rather than pulling away and Gladio tightened his grip, doing his best to impart whatever comfort he could. ‘I know you two were really close.’

Ignis sucked in a deep breath and let out a shaking one. ‘It’s ridiculous that I can’t seem to pull myself together,’ he mumbled into Gladio’s shoulder. ‘Me crying can’t resurrect the dead.’

‘Wouldn’t that be something?’ Gladio chuckled half-heartedly. He pulled away slightly to regard Ignis seriously. ‘But seriously, Iggy. It’s ok to cry. Sometimes you _need_ to. That’s why we do it. It doesn’t make you any less perfect than you already are, ok?’

‘You must think me ridiculous,’ Ignis shook his head, this time failing to stop the tears from falling. He hiccoughed, descending into quiet, heaving sobs again.

‘Iggy, why the hell would I think that?’ Gladio pulled him back into a hug, rubbing soothing circles between his shoulders. ‘It’s me, Iggy. I’m your friend. I’m here for you. It’s ok; it’s ok to cry.’

And wrapped in the warmth of his best friend’s love and comfort, Ignis let go and cried.

-

‘Gladio?’ Ignis found him sitting by the edge of the water, staring into the distance, not too far from the haven where Prompto was doing his best to make Noctis feel better. When he got no response, Ignis walked over, placing a gentle hand to a large muscular shoulder.

Gladio shook himself and looked up. ‘Hey Iggy,’ he said mutedly, his voice cracking and brittle. ‘You need me back?’

‘I came to check on you,’ Ignis sank down next to him, reaching out to take his hand. ‘I’ve been a little worried about you.’

‘Why? I’m fine.’

‘No, you are bloody well not,’ Ignis huffed. ‘You’ve been so strong for all of us, Gladio, and I am so grateful for that, but you can take some time to mourn for your father, Gladio. No one will fault you for that.’

‘We’ve all lost something, Iggy,’ Gladio sighed heavily. ‘Now’s not the time to be thinking only of myself. We all need to be strong, just like you always are. You’re the strongest person I know.’

‘That title goes to you,’ Ignis shook his head before releasing Gladio’s hand to get up to his knees, kneeling next to Gladio and reaching out to pull him into a tight hug. ‘Do you remember what you said to me when we were children? What you told me after my grandmother passed away.’

‘Huh?’ Gladio was confused, but still allowed himself to sink into the embrace.

‘You told me it’s ok to cry,’ Ignis murmured into his ear. ‘I think it might be time for you to take your own advice.’

Gladio pulled away a little to look at Ignis, his best friend for so long, and now so much more than that, and nodded, letting the tears fall from his eyes. ‘Thank you, Iggy. Thanks for being here for me, even when I’m more of a mess than I should be.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Ignis pressed a hard kiss to his forehead before wrapping his arms more tightly around him, allowing Gladio to bury his face in the crook of his neck and break down into harsh sobs.

Ignis stayed there, until the sun began to dip dangerously below the trees, simply holding Gladio there while he mourned his father. He stayed there as long as they safely could, offering a shoulder to Gladio to cry on. After all, Gladio had been the one to teach him that it was perfectly ok to cry.

-

The daemons had vanished all at once. Even as they knew what it meant, Gladio, Ignis and Prompto had rushed into the citadel to see if the fight had truly ben won. It was in the throne room that they found him, slumped over and motionless, the Prince of Insomnia had returned home one final time before sacrificing himself for the rest of them.

Prompto broke first, rushing forward to his best friend’s motionless body, tears flowing down his cheeks as he tried in vain to get some response out of Noctis. When none came, he simply broke down into sobs, tugging his friend’s lifeless form to his chest.

Ignis was next, turning to Gladio, tears flowing from his less-damaged eye. ‘It’s over, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah, Iggy,’ Gladio pulled him into a hug, burying his face into the crook of Ignis’ neck and letting his own tears flow freely. ‘He did it. He won.’

‘Then why is this so painful?’ Ignis held him fast, feeling their tears mix together as they cried.

‘Because it fucking sucks that this is how it had to go,’ Gladio pulled away to look down at him, hating the pain he was seeing on his favourite face in the world, for once glad that Ignis was unable to see the pain Gladio knew he had on his own. He leaned down to kiss his forehead before pulling him back into a tight hug, joining back into the symphony of sobbing as they mourned the prince they had all loved.

Together, they cried. They cried until the first drops of dawn began to colour the horizon. They took a moment to appreciate the first glimpse of sunlight they had gotten in a decade, before shedding the few more tears they had left, crying until they had nothing left. It was long ago they had learned; it’s ok to cry.


End file.
